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erin318
Guest
I had surgery 8 days ago and my staples are still in my dack. Today they are red and itchy. Is that a sign of infection or is that normal?
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lfoster21
Guest
Do you actually have staples in that need to come out or are they the disolving type? I know that they say when things get red, that can be a sign of infection...I also know that as the incision begins to heal, one of the first signs of a healing is when it becomes itchy. Since infections are not something that you want to let go for a few days, I'd go to an Urgent care type of place or ER, tomorrow and have the triage nurse look at the incision.
I know that when I had my trial stimulator place in, my stitches had some dried blood that came through the gauze. Even though it was dried and I had no idea if it was suppose to have bled or not, I went to the ER and told them that I did not know if there was something that was important for a Dr. to look at then...or if it looked like something I could wait till the next day and then go to see my Dr. The triage nurse looked at it and confirmed that it was old blood from the initial incision and it was not still bleeding. I then waited till the next day to go by my Drs. office and they cleaned it all up. (If the wait had not been so long at the ER or if it had been something that needed to be seen right away, I would have had them take care of it there, but it was neither.) But it can't hurt to have it checked out, esspecially being that it is a long weekend and you may not be able to get in to see your Dr. for several days.
Good luck,
Lorie:angel:
I know that when I had my trial stimulator place in, my stitches had some dried blood that came through the gauze. Even though it was dried and I had no idea if it was suppose to have bled or not, I went to the ER and told them that I did not know if there was something that was important for a Dr. to look at then...or if it looked like something I could wait till the next day and then go to see my Dr. The triage nurse looked at it and confirmed that it was old blood from the initial incision and it was not still bleeding. I then waited till the next day to go by my Drs. office and they cleaned it all up. (If the wait had not been so long at the ER or if it had been something that needed to be seen right away, I would have had them take care of it there, but it was neither.) But it can't hurt to have it checked out, esspecially being that it is a long weekend and you may not be able to get in to see your Dr. for several days.
Good luck,
Lorie:angel:
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erin318
Guest
I ended up calling te PA on call. He told me as long as there was no oozing or fever that the redness and itching was a sign of healing and that the staples were ready to come out. No need to worry I guess but the itcing is driving me nuts:jester:
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lfoster21
Guest
I do remeraber that the more itchy that it gets, the closer you are to the end of the incision healing time. I think it lasted about a week, for you last surgery, which was 2 month ago. So, if that helps any, to tell yourself that the itching is a good thing
. Did your Dr. say you could put some anti-itching oitment on it or to use ice. I know I used ice a lot for it.
Good luck and know that it wont last long.
Lorie:angel:
. Did your Dr. say you could put some anti-itching oitment on it or to use ice. I know I used ice a lot for it.Good luck and know that it wont last long.
Lorie:angel:
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zeroman
Guest
I had staples (28, looked like I had a zipper in my stomach heh), they did start to itch around 7 days, they took them out at 10.
as long as theyre not oozing or really painful theyre OK, but its always better to ask your doc.
they come out easy and you wont miss them at all when theyre gone
as long as theyre not oozing or really painful theyre OK, but its always better to ask your doc.
they come out easy and you wont miss them at all when theyre gone
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BlueAtlas
Guest
As the others said, itching is normal during healing. It might help to take a little Benadryl. Check with your doctor on that, but I don't think there's any reason you can't take it. Redness is also normal, but as you already found out, if there's any oozing or it feels warm to the touch, then you need to get it looked at.
Hope you're doing better today. This is a long recovery, so listen to your doctor, no bending lifting or twisting, and rest a lot, with as much walking as you can tolerate in between rests.
Let us know if you have other questions. We're not experts, but we'll try to help.
Take care,
Emily
Hope you're doing better today. This is a long recovery, so listen to your doctor, no bending lifting or twisting, and rest a lot, with as much walking as you can tolerate in between rests.
Let us know if you have other questions. We're not experts, but we'll try to help.
Take care,
Emily
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Baybreeze
Guest
As far as I know, redness can indicate infection, but you also want to key an eye out for oozing and inflammation around the area. Or if any spot starts looking yellowish. Itching can definitely be a sign of healing, though. So it's probably kinda hard to tell right now. If it starts looking inflamed and suddenly starts hurting more (when it should be hurting less day by day), then definitely see your doctor. I also had staples, but mine were inside & under the skin layers....but they were the disolvable kind. On the outside of my skin, I had a bunch of clear tape strips, which I was to just let come off by themselves. I not only got severe itching as my wound healed, but I got hives all over the area as well, which was not fun. It might be good to have someone else you know (spouse, friend, parent) to look at it as they can see better back there.